Salón del Estanque
The Paseo Salón del Estanque runs along the edge of the Buen Retiro’s Great Pond, an artificial lake built between 1634 and 1638 by Cristóbal de Aguilera for Philip IV. The word “salón” follows the 18th–19th-century Madrid tradition of the broad, landscaped, public promenade, like the Salón del Prado.
Around 1634, Cristóbal de Aguilera, master of Madrid’s fountains, drew the hydraulic heart of the Royal Site that the Count-Duke of Olivares was raising for Philip IV: an enormous pond, about 250 by 125 meters, nearly four hectares of still water in the middle of the park. The works were certified as finished on 13 April 1638.
The great reservoir was not only for watering the gardens. On its surface they staged naumachiae —mock naval battles—, aquatic spectacles and gondola rides for the court. At the center floated an oval island that vanished at the start of the 18th century, when the Parterre was built.
The Revolution of 1868 changed the owner: the Royal Site passed to the City of Madrid and its walks began to receive formal names. This area was registered as Salón del Estanque. Here Madrid held its Book Fair between 1967 and 1970, when the exhibitors were already so many it had to be moved to the Retiro’s own Paseo de Coches.
Sources (5)
- Estanque Grande del Buen Retiro — Wikipedia
- Estanque grande del Retiro — Patrimonio Cultural y Paisaje Urbano, Ayuntamiento de Madrid
- Puerta de Hernani del Retiro — Patrimonio Cultural y Paisaje Urbano, Ayuntamiento de Madrid
- Feria del Libro de Madrid — Wikipedia
- Los Embarcaderos del Estanque Grande del Retiro — Arte en Madrid